Layla sat alone in a quiet office in Maine, fingers folded tightly in her lap. She was nervous. The man she had been speaking with had left the room a few minutes earlier, and she knew that silence well. It meant he was double-checking her background, making sure every detail lined up, deciding how politely to say no.

  When he came back in, Layla lifted her gaze and put on her smile. It was practiced, artificial, but as pleasant as she could make it.

  “I’m sorry,” the man said as he took the chair across from her desk. “Unfortunately, your profile isn’t what we’re looking for at the moment.”

  Layla kept the smile in place and thanked him for the opportunity. “I know where the exit is.”

  She left the office and stepped into the elevator. The moment the doors slid shut, the smile vanished. Another interview. Another rejection.

  Ever since leaving the tutorial, reintegrating into normal life had been brutal for Layla and her father. They had managed, somehow, but the few years she spent inside the tutorial felt like decades carved into her bones. Even so, she wanted to move forward. She needed to.

  Layla wanted a meaningful position in government. She hated factions, divine orders, and anything that smelled like blind allegiance. Back in the New World, after leaving the tutorial, she had turned down every invitation tied to those groups. Reintegration might have been hard, but there was no world where she would trade her smartphone for a life of dogma.

  That was when she had the idea of becoming a consultant.

  There were companies dedicated to helping newly awakened people navigate the System, offering guidance on leveling, skill selection, and builds with real synergy. As someone with a System herself, Layla had special security clearance and access to a different layer of the internet. On paper, she was qualified. More than qualified.

  In reality, getting hired was anything but easy. And she was not important enough to start her own company.

  “Sorry, but your profile doesn’t match what we’re looking for right now.”

  “Unfortunately, the position has already been filled.”

  “We loved your background, but at the moment it’s not what we need.”

  She scrolled through the emails while boarding the bus, irritation simmering with every familiar phrase.

  At least they replied. Some applications had been sitting unanswered for over a month. Another notification popped up. This one was from her father.

  Layla exhaled slowly as she sat down near the back of the bus. She already knew what it would be. He would ask how the interview went. Somehow, that question always hurt more than the rejection itself.

  “Dad, unfortunately…” she started typing, then stopped.

  The message had nothing to do with the interview.

  “Layla, you won’t believe what just happened. Someone came by the house. Someone you’re going to love seeing again.”

  When she got home, she found a face she never expected to see again.

  “Professor Eleanor?” Layla said, her voice lighting up.

  “Hello, Layla. It’s been a month since we last saw each other.”

  They talked for a while, catching up, until her father quietly excused himself and left them alone.

  “I heard you’ve been trying to find a job,” Eleanor said. “You could be living comfortably off the money you received, like many others. I’ve also heard the government plans to distribute additional funds to us.”

  “Half a million is enough to change a lot of lives,” Layla admitted. “But… I feel like I need to do something. I can’t just sit still.”

  “That feeling is normal,” Eleanor said gently. “It happens to soldiers when they come back from war. They stay alert, suspicious of everything, always waiting for something to go wrong.”

  She studied Layla carefully.

  “You’ve been seeing a psychologist, haven’t you?”

  “I’m fine with that, Professor. At some point I’d have to go back to work anyway. So I figured consulting would be a good start. It’s simple, and it pays well. One of the reasons I accepted the System in the first place was to get a better job, and my father supported me.”

  “You really do think ahead, Layla.”

  Even though Eleanor was practically the same age as her, she felt much older. More refined. More composed. She spoke easily with authority, like it was second nature. Around her, Layla felt smaller somehow, and yet the admiration only grew stronger. If she were to model herself after anyone, it would be Eleanor. They even shared the same class. Both archers.

  “I don’t know if you’re aware, but my father is… somewhat important in the government. He works for the SIA.”

  As Eleanor explained further and finally revealed who her father really was, Layla froze.

  The Director General of the SIA?

  That name carried weight. Legendary weight.

  There were only two positions in the country that truly mattered. The President, whose power lasted only as long as a term allowed. And the Director of the SIA, whose authority was for life. In practice, it was almost a second presidency. In some ways, it was more powerful than the first.

  “I’m putting together a consulting team, Layla,” Eleanor said. “I don’t like staying idle either. What do you think about working for me?”

  Every rejection Layla had collected from failed interviews vanished in an instant.

  “Yes!” she blurted out.

  “Slow down,” Eleanor replied, amused. “You should think about it first. Talk to your father. Things like that.”

  But Layla had no intention of wasting time talking. Her answer was already decided.

  ***

  It took a full week before she saw Eleanor again, and Layla crossed off each day on the calendar like it mattered. Her father supported her decision without hesitation. She boarded a flight to Washington, leaving the quiet comfort of Maine behind.

  The address led her to a crumbling detective office. Dust coated the shelves. Papers were scattered everywhere. More than once, Layla wondered if she had the wrong place, but she followed the instructions written on the card Eleanor had given her.

  When she asked to meet one of the detectives, she was guided into an empty room. Without warning, the walls began to shake. The floor dropped beneath her feet. Only then did she realize she was inside an elevator, descending. That was how Layla discovered she had entered an underground government facility. A second reception awaited her below, sleek and immaculate. She stared, wide-eyed.

  “I-I-I’m here to see Eleanor Kennedy.”

  “Kennedy?” The receptionist nodded. “She’s expecting you. I’ll have someone escort you.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  When she arrived, Layla reunited with Eleanor and spotted a few familiar faces from the tutorial. Other archery students. Soldiers Eleanor was already close to.

  “I’ll be direct,” Eleanor said once everyone was gathered. “All of us here have more experience than most people in government, and some of us are Rank E. That already puts us far above the average.”

  She let that sink in before continuing.

  “This team will operate under the government’s Hunter Division. We work independently, through contracts and specialized services. More importantly, you will be my team. On the surface, I’ll act as a diplomat of sorts. Down here, we track system-empowered criminals, fugitives, and large-scale smugglers. You’ll start with lighter investigative work. But if any of you want real action, I can assign joint operations with veteran teams. Any questions?”

  No one spoke. Not because they were unsure, but because they were eager.

  Layla’s days there quickly filled with training and consulting alongside government personnel. She assisted and taught many agents with the Archer class, most of whom were visibly impressed by her skill. Layla herself never thought it was anything special.

  She rarely saw Professor Eleanor. Important people stayed busy. Layla had agreed to spend a few months under this consulting arrangement, but she knew that sooner or later she would have to officially move to Washington.

  “You won’t need to move here,” Eleanor said when Layla finally asked.

  “Seriously?”

  “Why would you?”

  “To be… closer to work.”

  “The government has unrestricted access to intercontinental teleportation,” Eleanor explained calmly. “All you need to do is teleport to the New World, then teleport from there to here. We have an embassy inside this very building. Honestly, the only real effort on your end is driving to your state’s embassy.”

  That was huge. She could keep living with her father in Maine. Maybe even in a better house.

  The days that followed settled into a strange routine. Layla was still nervous, unsure if she was actually doing well, but her role became clearer with time. She provided theoretical consulting on the System for agents, helped with training exercises, and at the same time learned internal procedures, administrative structures, and even logistical processes related to equipment. She was absorbing everything.

  At the end of one workday, Eleanor called her into her office.

  Layla felt a flicker of anxiety, convinced she had done something wrong. When she stepped inside, however, she was caught completely off guard.

  “Layla, I have a special assignment,” Eleanor said, her tone serious. “And it’s something I can only give to you.”

  “Only me?”

  “You were personally recommended for it. This assignment is exclusive.”

  Wait. I was recommended? By who?

  Excitement sparked in her chest. She wanted to ask immediately, but she forced herself to stay composed.

  “And what exactly is this assignment?”

  “It’s fairly simple. You’ll escort a team in the New World to a city.”

  “Escort?” Layla frowned. “But… I don’t know anything about that place.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll mostly be riding in a carriage with them. Stay close, keep an eye on things. If something goes wrong along the way, help keep them safe. That’s it. And relax, most of the journey will be aboard a luxury ship.”

  “So I’m basically tagging along as a bodyguard?”

  “Yes. In case undead show up, or anything else along the road. You won’t be alone, of course. And after that comes the second part of the job.”

  “And what is that?”

  “I need to assist someone important in retrieving something located in the city of Sirius,” Eleanor said. “I’m also sending a government hunter-training team there. They would have been deployed somewhere anyway.”

  Layla listened carefully, absorbing every word.

  “Because of our ties to the government, we have special access through the local military,” Eleanor continued. “I need you to escort the team there and then gather information for me. Anything you find important about Sirius City.”

  “But what… exactly am I supposed to look for?”

  “I don’t know,” Eleanor admitted. “And apparently, neither does the person who asked.”

  That only deepened Layla’s confusion, though she kept her expression neutral. Eleanor went on, filling in the gaps. The task itself was simple: observe, listen, collect information. She even instructed Layla to make contact with one of the military officers responsible for the city.

  “This person has a talent for finding trouble,” Eleanor said quietly, “and an even better instinct for big things. If he’s interested in Sirius, then something unusual is happening there. So I’m moving a few pieces into place.”

  She paused, eyes sharp.

  “If everything goes well, we might end up impressing someone very important in the government.”

  Impress someone important?

  “But you can only go under one condition,” Eleanor said.

  “A condition? What kind?”

  “You have to take your plant with you.”

  “Huh?” Layla frowned, genuinely confused. For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard something completely absurd involving botany.

  “You need to take your plant with you, Layla. That person practically demanded it.”

  “A plant? What plant? What do you mean?”

  “I think the name is… Katarina,” Eleanor said, reading from a sheet of paper.

  “I have to take Katarina on the mission?”

  “Yes, Layla. Please don’t ask me any more questions. I’m just as confused as you are.”

  Probably best not to push it.

  “Fine. I’ll take the plant. When do I leave?”

  “Now, Layla.”

  “Now?” The word slipped out before she could stop it.

  “Yes. Time’s short. And I’ll give you some money to spend while you’re getting to know the city.”

  “And who is this person I’m supposed to meet?”

  “Someone from the tutorial you’ll be very happy to see again.”

  And just like that, Layla was on her way to Sirius alongside five government personnel. They were field agents sent there to train, grow stronger, and gain real experience. Thanks to the System, government agents could no longer train safely in controlled environments. The only way to gain class levels was through raw practice. Hunting creatures.

  That was how a government agent became strong enough to hunt criminals. First, they had to kill monsters in the New World. Then they returned home to deal with human threats. It was how national security forces maintained order within their own "borders".

  Layla traveled with them, first by ship, then by carriage. The journey was mostly uneventful, even when a few creatures wandered too close to the road. Those were dealt with quickly, a handful of arrows more than enough.

  Upon arriving in Sirius, she met with the military and entered a dimensional rift. There, she spoke with Peter and Cassandra Weiss about the region. She even learned that one of the agents had already returned to the United States, carrying information Eleanor intended to pass along to someone else.

  Layla remained inside the rift, stationed at the military camp, waiting to meet the person Eleanor had mentioned. Then one day, the news arrived. The exit rift had been taken. A criminal group had seized control and blocked all access, trapping everyone inside.

  From that point on, Layla’s brief stretch of peace collapsed into a surge of chaos worse than anything before. The village came under attack from criminals, bandits, deranged alchemists, and demonic creatures. Every kind of disaster imaginable struck that place. All she could do was endure, waiting for the war between factions inside the dimension to end, and hoping that whoever emerged victorious would not decide to kill her.

  But during one of those long days of waiting, something changed.

  ***

  Layla was heading toward a tent inside the military camp when she was told someone was asking specifically for government Americans. Her first thought was that it might be the important person Eleanor had mentioned. Somehow, that person had entered this dimension. When Layla gave her name and credentials, the soldier’s expression shifted and he nodded. Yes, it was the person she was supposed to meet.

  “That tent over there,” the soldier said, guiding her forward.

  As she walked, Eleanor’s words echoed in her mind.

  Someone I’ll love seeing again?

  Her thoughts jumped immediately to one name.

  Could it be… Lord Mason?

  She dismissed the idea almost as soon as it formed. No chance a noble like him would be working for the government.

  Maybe one of the archery instructors.

  Layla thought back to the people she had met there. Love was a strong word, but there were plenty she would be genuinely happy to see again. Some of the older folks. A few kids she had grown close to. People who had fought alongside her in the final battle of the tutorial.

  The list of people I’d be glad to see is huge. But if they’re part of this mission, then they’re not a civilian.

  Even so, the list of people Layla knew was massive. Months of training for the tutorial’s final event had forged tight bonds. Slowly, she began filtering not by who she wanted to see, but by who she absolutely did not. Surprisingly, only one name surfaced. And just thinking about him made her jaw tighten.

  Luke. That bastard. The tutorial’s resident womanizer. A manipulative, insufferable presence she had never once trusted. He was the only person she would genuinely hate running into again.

  Since Eleanor said it’s someone I’ll enjoy seeing, then maybe it really is one of the archery instructors.

  “I’m coming in,” Layla announced, pulling the tent flap aside.

  The moment she saw who was inside, her stomach dropped.

  “Oh no. Not you. Anyone but you.”

  “Hello, Layla,” said the most irritating voice in the world.

  It was Luke.

  The bastard himself.

  https://discord.gg/znGSjCxhkR